Fundamental aspects of excitation and propagation of on-line partial discharge signals in three-phase medium voltage cable systems

On-line partial discharge (PD) detection of three-phase belted medium voltage cable connections results in a number of interpretation differences as compared to off-line measurements where only one phase is energized. The induced currents and charges in the phase conductors and earth screen upon a PD not only depend on the discharge site, but also become phase angle dependent. Furthermore, simulations show that the PD distribution itself varies with the amount of eccentricity of the rotating electric field and may differ from the off-line distributions obtained with a linear field. Finally, the PD propagation in a multi-conductor cable also alters the signals measured at the cable terminals. In this paper, induced charges and PD distributions are studied by means of computer simulation. The cable propagation characteristics are verified by measurements.     

The effects of widowhood on physical and mental health, health behaviors, and health outcomes: The Women's Health Initiative.

This study examined whether widowhood was associated with physical and mental health, health behaviors, and health outcomes using a cross-sectional (N=72,247) and prospective (N=55,724) design in women aged 50-79 years participating in the Women's Health Initiative observational study (85.4% White). At baseline, married women reported better physical and mental health and generally better health behaviors than widowed women. Whereas women who remained married over the 3-year period showed stability in mental health, recent widows experienced marked impairments and longer term widows showed stability or slight improvements. Both groups of widows reported more unintentional weight loss over the 3-year period. Changes in physical health and health behaviors were inconsistent, with generally small effect sizes. Findings underscore the resilience of older women and their capacity to reestablish connections, but point to the need for services that strengthen social support among women who have difficulty during this transition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Computational Chemistry Prototyping Environment

Evolving technologies, as exemplified by computational grids and Web services, have made it possible to solve new scientific problems that would not have been feasible previously. In order to make such advances available to the community in general and to be able to solve new problems, not necessarily from the same discipline, it is imperative to build tools that provide a common user interface in order that application programmers and users do not have to be concerned with particulars of Web services and their underlying code, computational platforms, or with data file formats. We will describe our efforts in creating a computational chemistry environment that encompasses a general scientific workflow environment, a domain specific example for quantum chemistry, our ongoing design of a workflow user interface, and our efforts at database integration.     

Modelization of the whispering gallery mode in microgear resonators using the Floquet-Bloch formalism

In this paper, a two-dimensional (2-D) method describing the whispering gallery mode in a microgear resonator is presented. The microgear is a microdisk surrounded by a circular grating. The method, which is based on the Floquet-Bloch formalism, analytically describes the field within the disk and outside the grating. On the other hand, the field within the grating is calculated using a finite-difference scheme in polar coordinates. Matching the boundary conditions, it is possible to work in a forced oscillation regime or in a free oscillation regime (laser mode). The resonant wavelength and quality factor can then be deduced. Compared to the coupled mode theory and to 2-D finite-difference time-domain computations, the method is faster and more accurate. Moreover, a polarization effect of the microgear is demonstrated. The TE polarization experiences a Q-factor improvement contrary to TM polarization. Finally, microgear structures prove to be more efficient than micro flowers.     

Markov analysis of qualitative dynamics1

Common sense sometimes predicts events to be likely or unlikely rather than merely possible. We extend methods of qualitative reasoning to predict the relative likelihoods of possible qualitative behaviors by viewing the dynamics of a system as a Markov chain over its transition graph. This involves adding qualitative or quantitative estimates of transition probabilities to each of the transitions and applying the standard theory of Markov chains to distinguish persistent states from transient states and to calculate recurrence times, settling times, and probabilities for ending up in each state. Much of the analysis depends solely on qualitative estimates of transition probabilities, which follow directly from theoretical considerations and which lead to qualitative predictions about entire classes of systems. Quantitative estimates for specific systems are derived empirically and lead to qualitative and quantitative conclusions, most of which are insensitive to small perturbations in the estimated transition probabilities. The algorithms are straightforward and efficient.     

10?30 GHz monolithic GaAs travelling-wave divider/combiner

A four-way monolithic GaAs travelling-wave power divider/combiner has been designed, fabricated and evaluated. With a design centre frequency of 20 GHz, a bandwidth of from 10 GHz to 30 GHz has been measured. The insertion loss per dividing or combining action is less than 0.5 dB, with isolation between ports no worse than 20 dB. The input/output VSWRs are better than 2:1 across the same band. This divider/combiner can readily be used with monolithic GaAs power FET amplifiers to produce a several-fold increase in output powers over the 10 to 30 GHz frequency range.     

Biochemical oxidation of caprolactam-containing wastewater from the production of synthetic fibres

Conclusions The chemical mutagenesis method is recommended for use in local purification installations for cleaning up of caprolactam-containing wastewater.Use of this method permits one to carry out a biochemical clean-up of wastewater having a caprolactam content up to 600 mg/liter while increasing the oxidative power of the aeration tank by a factor of two.Translated from Khimicheskie Volokna, No. 6, p. 46, November–December, 1985.